124 A MONOGRAPH OF THE PHEASANTS 



These birds are decidedly polygamous, and the association of cock and hen is at 

 most only of a few days' duration, when she leaves and the male again renews his calling, 

 biding his time until a second appears. 



I found the nest of an Argus Pheasant in Pahang, well up on a mountain slope. It 

 had served its purpose and the chicks had left, but not many days before, as the remains 

 of the two eggs which had been the complement were only beginning to become dis- 

 coloured and to sink into the mould. They were in sufficiently large pieces and with the 

 surface in good enough condition to be certain of the species, but the final proof 

 was afforded by a few feathers attached to the ddbris in the nest. Pheasant-like, there 

 was no nest proper, the slight depression in the ground being still faintly discernible, and 

 the nest lining was only the dead leaves which were already on the spot. It was 

 sheltered by a low, sweeping, flowering bush, which grew from the outer base of an out- 

 jutting rock, the nest being on a little level talus of earth below the boulder, and close to 

 the steep slope of the mountainside. As well as I could judge it was at a thousand feet 

 elevation and on an eastern slope. The growth was palm and a peculiar kind of bamboo 

 which I had not seen elsewhere. 



I can find no support for the often-quoted statement that seven or eight eggs are 

 laid. Of many layings in captivity, all have been of two; the nest I found had 

 contained two, and a wild hen which I dissected was about to deposit two eggs, while 

 the remainder of the ova showed no signs of development. I also doubt whether the 

 bird ever '' builds a rude nest," as Davison states. The two eggs which are the full 

 complement of each normal set are in shape rather blunt ovals, smooth and with a fair 

 amount of gloss. The ground colour varies from pale reddish buff to a dark cream 

 colour, and they are freckled with pale reddish brown. The distribution of these small 

 spots and freckles shows considerable variation. They may be coarse and evenly 

 distributed over the whole shell, or very minute and clustered around the two ends. 

 Again, the larger end may be marked by good-sized irregular blotches of pigment, or the 

 concentration of colour may occur at the smaller pole. The extremes of measurement 

 are 60-5 and 66 mm. in length, 46 and 48 in width, the average being 63-8 by 47 mm. 



The length of incubation and the general relations of the chicks to their parent I 

 shall give under the heading of Captivity. I say *' parent" advisedly, for the cock, as far 

 as we know, takes no share in the home life of the species. When he has mated with 

 the hen, his part is finished, and she goes away by herself, founds her home, hatches the 

 young birds and rears them without any assistance. 



RELATION TO MAN 



The common method of capture of the Argus Pheasant by the natives is by means 

 of a snare or noose, the latter usually being attached to a bent sapling which jerks the 

 bird clear of the ground. When once the dancing-ground is found, it is not a difficult 

 matter to capture the bird which makes use of it. The natives sometimes erect a low 

 bamboo or brush fence entirely around it, leaving several openings, each furnished with 

 a noose attached to a sapling, so that at the first approach of the bird it is certain to be 

 ensnared. The most spectacular way of capture is by playing upon the very enthusiasm 

 of the bird, its anxiety to keep 'its dancing ground clear and its remarkable persistence 



